Red Hat Linux
Created | Updated Dec 5, 2004
Fact File
| Is it available for free? | Only the Fedora Project is. |
| Price Rating1 | $$$$$ |
| Does it have a largely automated, graphical installation procedure? | Yes. |
| Does it install a GUI by default? | Yes. |
| Can you get support from the company/organisation itself? | Yes, except for the Fedora Project. |
| Is it available in most retail stores? | Yes. |
| Does it support multiple architectures? | Yes, depending on the version you get. |
| Is it suitable for absolute beginners? | No. |
| Who uses it? |
|
| Where is it based? | The USA. |
| What year was it started? | 1994. |
| What are the basic, minimum system requirements? | 200MHz or equivalent processor speed (300 for Enterprise Linux); 520MB of HDD space (800 for Enterprise Linux); 64MB RAM (256MB for Enterprise Linux2). |
| What are the recommended system requirements? | 400MHz or equivalent or faster processor; 2.4GB of HDD space; 256MB RAM. |
| What is its package management system? | RPM |
| How popular is this distribution?NB | 378; 11 600 000; Extremely popular. |
| Link: | Red Hat Home Page. |
Description
Since 1994, the American Red Hat company has been the leader in professional developers' Linux solutions. Today, there are many different flavours of Red Hat Linux, tailored for different uses. On a fundamental level, there are two main choices: Red Hat Enterprise Linux, for stable and secure workstations or servers used for technical design or mission-critical applications; or the Fedora Project, made by the community of open source developers as a general purpose operating system.
If you're a beginner, then the Fedora Project is the best of the Red Hat options, since it is free to download. If you're in a business with mission-critical applications, large databases or enterprising purposes, then the 'AS' flavour of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is best. If you have a small business or need a server for an individual department, then their 'ES' flavour is the one to go for. For a very technical workstation, for clustering and other high-end uses, the 'WS' version is best. And finally the newly released (May 2004) 'Red Hat Desktop' is designed for business client computers, multi-user environments, or general personal use.
Follow this link for more detailed information on the different Red Hat choices.
1Where five $s indicates extortion and one $ indicates a bargain.2And 512MB if you are using an AMD64 or Itanium2 processor architecture.
